President of Kyrgyzstan

The president of Kyrgyzstan, officially the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, is the head of state and government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The president directs the executive branch of the national government, is the commander-in-chief of the Kyrgyz military and also heads the National Security Council.
The president, according to the constitution, "is the symbol of the unity of people and state power, and is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, and of an individual and citizen."
The office of president was established in 1990 replacing the chairman of the Supreme Soviet that existed, in different forms, from 1936 whilst the country was known as the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic.
The first popularly elected officeholder was Askar Akayev, who served from October 1990 until 24 March 2005. In July 2005 after the Tulip Revolution, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected. He was re-elected in 2009, but large riots in April 2010 forced him to resign and flee the country. Roza Otunbayeva was selected in April 2010 to head the interim government. She was officially inaugurated on 3 July 2010, as president for a limited term, until elections could be organised. Her successor, Almazbek Atambayev, was elected in the 2011 Kyrgyzstani presidential election and subsequently succeeded Otunbayeva on 1 December that year.
On 16 October 2017, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, the former prime minister, was elected president of the country. He took office on 24 November 2017. On 15 October 2020, Jeenbekov resigned following unrest over the parliamentary elections on 4 October. Jeenbekov was succeeded by Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov, who became acting president before being confirmed as the 6th and current president on 16 October, and officially held the post on 28 January 2021.

Oath of office

On assuming office, the president raises his/her right arm and puts it on the Kyrgyz Constitution while reciting the following oath:
Russian Translation:
English Translation:

Election

Qualifications

The office of president is open to all citizens of Kyrgyzstan who are no younger than 35 years of age, and no older than 65 years of age. A candidate must have a command of the state language, and have resided in the republic for no less than 15 years before the nomination of his or her candidacy for the position. The president cannot be a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh, occupy other positions, or carry out entrepreneurial activities, and must suspend activity in political parties and organizations for their period in office.
On taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 45 of the constitution, within 30 days of election before the assembled members of the legislative chamber:

Electoral law

The president is elected by the citizens of Kyrgyzstan by a majority of votes cast. These elections are held on the basis of universal suffrage, and by secret ballot. To become a candidate a person must obtain the signatures of fifty thousand registered voters.
For an election to be considered valid the turnout must not be lower than fifty percent. Similarly, if a candidate wins the backing of more than fifty percent of the voters who participated they are the winner. Should no candidate win an outright majority in the first round, the two candidates with the highest number of votes face each other in a second ballot.

Inauguration ceremony

The Inauguration ceremony of the president of Kyrgyzstan is a ceremony that takes place to mark the start of a new term for the president of Kyrgyzstan.
List of inaugural ceremonies

Date	President	Location	Document Sworn On	Notes
	Askar Akayev	White House, Bishkek	Constitution of the Kyrgyz SSR	It was the first presidential inauguration in the history of Kyrgyzstan.
	Askar Akayev	White House, Bishkek	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan
	Askar Akayev	Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan
	Kurmanbek Bakiyev	Ala-Too Square	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan	It took place on Ala-Too Square for the first time. The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Prime Minister of Tajikistan Oqil Oqilov, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Belarus Gennady Novitsky, the Minister of Defense of Turkey Vecdi Gönül, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk attended the inauguration.
	Kurmanbek Bakiyev	Government House, Bishkek	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan
	Roza Otunbayeva	Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan
	Almazbek Atambayev	Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan	He was inaugurated on 1 December 2011. The ceremony was attended by the president of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, and president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. The ceremony budget cost less than half of what was spent for inauguration ceremony of Kurmanbek Bakiev in 2009.
	Sooronbay Jeenbekov	Ala Archa State Residence	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan	It was the first inauguration ceremony to take place at the Ala Archa State Residence.
	Sadyr Japarov	Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov	Constitution of Kyrgyzstan	The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev were invited, but ultimately did not attend the inauguration. However former leaders Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Roza Otunbayeva did attend.

Residences

Yntymak Ordo : The new presidential palace of Kyrgyzstan was opened on 30 August 2024. It is located on Mir Avenue in the south of Bishkek.
White House, Bishkek
Central Committee Building, Bishkek
Ala-Archa State Residence
Cholpon-Ata State Residence
Jalal-Abad State Residence
South State Residence
Duties and functions

The head of state holds significant power as provided for in the constitution. This states that they have the authority to:

Appoint the Prime Minister and other members of government
Present candidates to Parliament for positions within the Supreme Court
Direct foreign policy
Present and sign law
Announce all elections and enact decrees
Act as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan
Presidential appointments
Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan
Cabinet ministers
Procurator General of Kyrgyzstan
Chairperson of the State Committee for National Security
Chairperson of the State Border Guard Service
Chairperson of the State Customs Service
Chairperson of the State Forensic Experts Service
Chairperson of the State Penitentiary Service
Chairperson of the State Service for Combating Economic Crimes
Chairperson of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan
Chief of the General Staff of Armed Forces
Commanders of the different service branches
Members of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan
Head of the Presidential Administration
Press secretary
Ambassadors of Kyrgyzstan
Impeachment

The president may be dismissed from office by Parliament only on the basis of a charge made by the Legislative Assembly of state treason or another grievous crime supported by a ruling of the Constitutional Court. Such a decision requires the support of two-thirds of the Jogorku Kenesh who are immediately dismissed should the president be found innocent.

Succession

If the president becomes unable to carry out their duties for reasons such as death, illness or impeachment, the prime minister shall carry out their duties until the election of a new head of state. This must take place within three months of the termination of their Presidency. Kyrgyzstan has only had one peaceful transition of power from president to president. Askar Akayev was forced from office by the Tulip Revolution of 2005 and Kurmanbek Bakiyev was forced from office by the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010. Almazbek Atambayev was peacefully succeeded by Sooronbay Jeenbekov in 2017. However, Jeenbekov resigned from office due to the 2020 Kyrgyzstani protests and was succeeded by Sadyr Japarov.

List of presidents of Kyrgyzstan

indicates an individual serving as an acting or provisional president of Kyrgyzstan

	Portrait	Name	Elected	Took office	Left office	Political party
1		Askar Akayev	1990	27 October 1990	24 March 2005	Independent '
1'		Askar Akayev	1991	27 October 1990	24 March 2005	Independent '
1'		Askar Akayev	1995	27 October 1990	24 March 2005	Independent '
1'		Askar Akayev	2000	27 October 1990	24 March 2005	Independent ''
—		Ishenbai Kadyrbekov	—	24 March 2005	25 March 2005	Independent
—		Kurmanbek Bakiyev	—	25 March 2005	14 August 2005	Independent People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan Ak Jol /15 April 2010 )
2		Kurmanbek Bakiyev	2005	14 August 2005	2 August 2009	Independent People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan Ak Jol /15 April 2010 )
		Kurmanbek Bakiyev	2009	2 August 2009	7 April 2010 /15 April 2010	Independent People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan Ak Jol /15 April 2010 )
—		Roza Otunbayeva	—	7 April 2010	3 July 2010	Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
3		Roza Otunbayeva	—	3 July 2010	1 December 2011	Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
4		Almazbek Atambayev	2011	1 December 2011	24 November 2017	Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
5		Sooronbay Jeenbekov	2017	24 November 2017	15 October 2020	Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
—		Sadyr Japarov	—	15 October 2020	14 November 2020	Mekenchil
—		Talant Mamytov	—	14 November 2020	28 January 2021	Kyrgyzstan
6		Sadyr Japarov	2021	28 January 2021	Incumbent	Mekenchil
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